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If you live in a warm weather climate like I do, you probably haven’t carved your pumpkin yet. We wait about 5 days before Halloween for this family event. For others, this weekend is prime time for carving those pumpkins with the kids! It’s a Halloween tradition for my family and Zippo has assembled some easy-to-follow tips so that you’ll be able to hit the ground running.

What You Need:

• Pumpkin (choose a large pumpkin for easier carving)
• Newspaper (just roll up and throw away the pumpkin guts!)
• Marker (to mark the lines of where you’ll be cutting)
• Stencils (search online for free stencils)
• Sharp knife and spoon or a pumpkin carving kit
• Small tea-light candle (to show off your talent!)
• Zippo Flex Neck ($19.95, http://www.zippo.com/product.aspx?id=1023899) — with a flexible nozzle, you don’t have to worry about burning your fingers when you bring your carving to life!

Instructions:

1. Place a pumpkin flat on its bottom, on a flat surface (you may need to cut the bottom of the pumpkin to keep it stable)
2. Draw a circle around the stem with a marker – make sure the circle is large enough so that you can fit your hand through it!
3. Cut around the outline with a long, sharp knife
4. Lift the newly made lid and remove the flesh of the pumpkin with a spoon. Go ahead and use your hands and let the kids give it a try. There’s nothing like the feel of pumpkin guts! Separate the seeds for roasting later on. Yummy!
5. Rinse the interior, clearing out the remaining flesh, and tip away the waste.
6. Draw your design on the front of the pumpkin with a marker or draw around an already-made stencil. Go simple if this is your first time, then move on to more difficult and amazing designs.
7. Insert the tip of your knife into the lines drawn and begin carving your design
8. When your Jack o’lantern is done, place the small tea-light candle inside the pumpkin.
9. Save your fingers from any unnecessary burns by lighting it with a Zippo Flex Neck. The long, slim, adjustable nozzle will fit right in between the carvings so that you don’t have to remove the candle to light it. Your fingers will thank you!

Zippo is on hand to get your family together this Halloween.

Information for this post was provided by Zippo. I will receive a Zippo Flex Neck for writing this post. All opinions are my own.

Then print out your coupons, up to $83 worth, to buy new Hasbro games, like Scrabble Flash Cubes, Trouble, Bop It XT, Chutes and Ladders and much more. Coupons are good until October 9th and can be used at major retailers.

You’ll be ready for National Family Game Night on September 28th when families all over the US spend time together playing a game. Unplug and reconnect as a family! Tell your friends about this important time when you family comes first. By the way, Hasbro recommends a family game night each week and I agree!

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Here are some first day of school tradition suggestions:

Take A Photo – This is a very common tradition that has been passed down from generations, but now many of us share that photo on our blogs and other social media sites. As your child gets older, you may get some flack about having a photo taken, so do it in private at home and not in front of the school bus! Keep each photo in a special photo album and always write a date and the grade your child is attending on the back of the photo.

Special Breakfast – Prepare a special breakfast for your child. You can surprise them with something new, or something they’ve eaten a few times and really enjoyed or that fancy breakfast you only make for guests. You can also set the table with a new place mat, fresh flowers, or add a card that will put a smile on your child’s face.

Small Gifts – Give your child a small present, like that super-duper sharpener they asked for when you were buying school supplies, a new book, or a key chain with the school year. Decide if you want to give the gift before or after the school day.

Dining Out – Some families have dinner out on the first day of school to celebrate this special occasion. Go to your child’s favorite place to eat, spend time together as a family and talk all about what happened during the day. You can also do this for breakfast. Just watch the time!

Special Notes – Children of all ages love to get notes from Mom or Dad in their lunch box, backpack or pocket. They just won’t admit it when they’re older. Write something sweet, funny or both and be sure to add a smiley face or a heart. If your child is in grade 5 or higher, you will want to be sure the note is found only by your child and not by classmates. Lunch boxes are out by that age.

What are your first day of school traditions? Is this something that you came up with on your own, was it passed down from your parents or did you learn about it somewhere else?

Green Food

Add green food coloring to almost anything and watch your kids eat it up. Some suggestions – vanilla pudding, ice cream shakes, white cake or cupcakes and of course plain old milk.

Share all sorts of naturally green foods such as green apples, kiwis, grapes, celery (add some peanut butter), green pistachios and a platter of green peppers, raw broccoli and cucumbers with dip.

Candy

You should be able to find all sorts of green candy and other St. Patrick’s related candy on sale for this special day. Think green M&M’s, lollipops, sour candies, and green apple flavored candies. Gold coins and shamrock shaped candies are popular too.

Lucky Charms Cereal

Serve it for breakfast, as a snack or add as a topping to iced cupcakes, cakes, pudding, etc.

photo credit - http://www.flickr.com/photos/laffy4k/403048731/

Corned Beef and Cabbage

The great thing about corned beef and cabbage is that children can pick out what they want to eat from this famous meal. If they don’t like the cabbage, then give them some carrots and potatoes with a slice of meat.

This is the recipe I’ve used for years:

Ingredients

1 Corned Beef Brisket with spice mixture (size depends on your family and if you want leftovers), rinse under water
1-2 heads of green cabbage – take off outer leaves, rinse and cut in fours
6-8 carrots, peeled, rinsed and cut in half (you may need to add more if corned beef is larger than 4 pounds)
6 large white potatoes, peeled and rinsed (you may need to add more again)
1 Loaf of Rye Bread
Various Types of Mustard

Preparation

Use a large pot to fit all ingredients. Add corned beef and cover with water. Do not add seasoning mix. (I find that children are more likely to eat this meal without the strong flavor of the seasonings. The meat has been brined so it holds a lot of flavor.)

Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 2 hours. Add cabbage and carrots. Cook for another 30 – 40 minutes. Add potatoes (keep them whole) and cook for another 20 minutes. Make sure all vegetables are cooked thoroughly. You may need to add more water when you add the vegetables. Keep another pot of boiling water going on the side.

When done, carve meat. Serve on a large platter with vegetable. Offer rye bread to eat with meal. Mustard is often used as a condiment too. My family likes to mash up the potatoes and carrots on our own dishes.

For leftovers, add some of the liquid to your containers to keep meat moist. Eat as a meal or have sandwiches.

Whatever foods you choose to eat with your kids on St. Patrick’s Day, remember to spend time together, share stories about the history of the day and about Leprechauns. Go see a parade or make a craft.

Buying baby furniture can be a long process because there are so many choices. You may want to go modern or traditional. You may want to spend a lot of money and decorate to your heart’s content or be frugal but still make the room show all of the love you have for your baby. Deciding on colors, types of wood, fabrics, convenience and of course safety are other reasons to start doing some research and then actually shopping.

Make a list of the items you’ll need for the nursery from books or searching online. Then go through to see what is necessary for you and your family. If you have some hand-me-downs, check to see if they’ve been recalled before putting them into use again.

Sometimes you’ll be lucky and find a collection of furniture that you like and settle on. That makes getting ready so much easier! For example the Oeuf Furniture Collection is one that you may fall in love with. You can start with the Oeuf crib which is in natural birch and then go from there. Add sheets, wall hangings, a dresser, the mattress, possibly a bassinet and don’t forget the Oeuf changing station.

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Even before Black Friday or Thanksgiving, I look through Gift Guides from bloggers. Many have giveaways and coupon codes already posted. My Brain Foggles Holiday Gift Guide is being updated and I have coupons, sales and giveaways listed now. Then on Thanksgiving, after dinner and a nice nap I get prepared.

• I Google “Black Friday Coupon Codes” and get those ready before midnight. I especially look for free shipping codes. I bookmark and save those. I also sign up for a Google alert. Don’t forget to add blogs to your alert because many bloggers will have this information in one place for you. Be sure to set “how often” to “as-it-happens”.
• I  check on sales for the online stores I purchase from regularly. I bookmark these sites and save them too.
• About 11 PM, I open the store sites and either register or log in. I check on my shipping address, credit card information and have any shipping addresses handy or added to the sites. I keep these tabs or windows open.
• I open another window for Google News and type in “Black Friday sales”.
• I begin to check the store sites and reload them as well as the Google News window.
• I also check my email for any updates to my Google alerts.
• Don’t forget that one of the easiest gifts to get is gift cards. Often online stores will offer them as a freebie or at a discount on Black Friday. My favorite is the Amazon.com Gift Card because you can buy almost anything with it.

This is a multitasking event, but I avoid crowds, getting up early and getting dressed. Yes, I shop  Black Friday online in my pajamas!

Halloween is celebrated on October 31st in the US. Preparations for costumes, home decorations, parties, etc. are made weeks in advance. Stores begin putting out Halloween candy and other items in early September, often along with Back To School supplies.

Halloween Candy and Food

According to the National Retail Federation, the average American will spend $66.28 on Halloween this year. Second only to costumes, candy eats up the largest chunk of this budget with American families spending an average of $22 each Halloween on confections.

Candy apples, candy corn, and all types of candy, especially those in Halloween wrappers or shapes are popular. In the 1930′s – 1940′s, children often started bonfires and roasted potatoes or nuts that were given to them. This was a treat, especially during the Depression.

Pumpkins

At first, pumpkins were used to decorate for Halloween in the rural areas on the US where they were more easily found.  Now this custom has grown to many areas where pumpkins are brought in to cities all over the US. Carving pumpkins, adding a candle and roasting pumpkin seeds is a tradition in many families now.

Trick or Treating

Known as “guising” in Scotland and Ireland, children would dress up in costumes to disguise their identities and beg for food, then became trick or treating in the USA.

The earliest known reference to ritual begging on Halloween in English speaking North America occurs in 1911, when a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario reported that it was normal for the smaller children to go street “guising” on Halloween between 6 and 7 p.m., visiting shops and neighbors to be rewarded with nuts and candies for their rhymes and songs. Another isolated reference to ritual begging on Halloween appears, place unknown, in 1915, with a third reference in Chicago in 1920. -  Halloween – Wkipidea

Trick or Treating is now common in the US. Having treats, often candy, to give to visitors is considered a courtesy. You also have a chance of being “tricked” if there’s no candy at your house. That can mean something as innocent as your doorbell being rung a number of times to eggs being thrown at your house or car.

Costumes

Halloween costumes were first based on the occult, such as witches, devils and ghosts. Now they are often based on the current popular toys, movies, celebrities, etc.

What are some of your own Halloween traditions?

Sources:

Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History

Halloween: Customs, Recipes & Spells

Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night

This weekend is tax free shopping in my state, so we’re going to hit the stores for the school supplies she needs. This always makes both of realize that it’s time to get back into a routine. It’s actually exciting too when there’s new books, clothes, and other supplies in the house.

I tell my daughter about what it was like for me at back to school time, especially when I was starting high school, which was an all girls school. This brings some humor into our talks as she can’t imagine that I went to a school without boys, not that she likes boys or anything!

Here’s some ideas to make your mother and daughter sleepover party fun for the both of you:

Pajamas and Clothing

Let your daughter wear your women’s pajamas. Dress up in some weird outfits. Do makeovers.

Junk Food

Get out the junk food, like popcorn, candy and potato chips. See what creations the two of you can come up with. What about pickles and potato chips?

Play Games

Board games, story telling games, and charades are just some examples of games you can play together. Go online and shop, but not for real. Choose the most expensive and stylish clothing, toys, furniture and even pretend to buy women’s pajamas and girls pajamas for the next party.

Sleep In

Stay up late and sleep in the next day. Have a huge breakfast and eat a yummy brunch. And don’t forget to stay in your womens pajamas while you’re eating!

Maybe this will turn out to be a family tradition you’ll enjoy for years to come. Let me know some other party ideas for your mother and daughter sleepover party.

This is a sponsored post.

1. Rainbows are popular for St. Patrick’s Day. Get out some crayons or markers and draw a colorful rainbow. If you’re lucky enough to see one, take some photos.
2. Going along with rainbows, make a batch of rainbow cookies. Use sugar cookies and add rainbow sprinkles or icing to make the shape and colors of your rainbow.
3. Leprechauns are easy to make out of paper lunch bags. You’ll need construction paper to add some extra touches like the hat and beard. Let your imagination guide you!



Image by bon_here via Flickr

4. Get a rock, paint it white and add a kiss from an ink stamp or paint to make the Blarney stone. You can even decorate it further with some glitter.
5. Make Irish Soda Bread with your child. Here’s a recipe from AllRecipes for Amazingly Easy Irish Soda Bread.
6. Make a Leprechaun box and watch your child’s eyes grow with excitement! You can use a cardboard box, covered with a paper bag or green construction paper. Decorate it as you see fit. Be sure there is a small opening. Leave it out the night of March 16th. Open it on March 17th at night to see what the Leprechauns have left to thank you for making them a place to stay for the day.
7. Look for clovers if weather permits. You’re sure to be lucky if you find a four leaf clover!
8. Eat a bowl of Lucky Charms for breakfast.
9. Here’s a video to teach you how to draw a shamrock:

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Be sure to spend some time with your children making some crafts and cooking some food. Maybe they’ll try Corned Beef and Cabbage this year.